NanoTritium batteries
 NanoTritium batteries powering a circuit board (left) and a Michigan Micro Mote (right) | |
| Type | Betavoltaic device |
|---|---|
| Inception | 2008 |
| Manufacturer | City Labs, Inc. |
| Models made | P100 series |
| Website | City Labs |
NanoTritium batteries are ultra-low-power, long-life betavoltaic devices developed by City Labs, Inc. These nanowatt-to-microwatt batteries utilize the natural decay of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, to generate continuous power for over 20 years.[1]
History
[edit]The first NanoTritium battery prototypes were developed in 2008 for encryption security memory backup power by City Labs, Inc., a regulatory-licensed R&D and manufacturing facility located in Miami, Florida.[2] The company originated at Florida International University in 2003 as part of the Office of Entrepreneurial Science founded by current City Labs CEO, Peter Cabauy.[3] The company was eventually joined by Larry C. Olsen, founder of Betacel, who served as Director of Research.[4] NanoTritium batteries were released commercially in 2012.[5] This marked the first time tritium batteries could be purchased without requiring a radiation license.[6] To date, this is the only General License granted to the betavoltaic industry.[7]
Technology
[edit]NanoTritium batteries employ principles of betavoltaic conversion and radioactive beta decay rather than conventional electrochemical cells to generate power, harnessing electrons released as the contained tritium naturally decays into helium-3, a non-radioactive isotope.[8] Current models are capable of producing an output voltage of 0.8 to 1.1 V with a current density of 150 nA/cm2.[9] Tritium's 12.32-year half-life and the relatively low amount of radiation emitted allow these batteries to safely output electrical power for decades.[10] Testing performed by Lockheed Martin during an industry-wide survey found NanoTritium batteries to be resistant to vibration, altitude, and temperatures ranging from -55°C to +150°C.[11] Repeated temperature cycling has been shown to have no effect on the performance of the batteries.[12]
While current P100 series NanoTritium batteries are limited to powering low-power microelectronic devices, future batteries are expected to produce a larger power output to expand use cases for higher-power devices.[1]
Applications
[edit]NanoTritium batteries have been employed for various applications where accessibility is limited and long-term power is beneficial, including powering components on COMSEC devices, satellites, unattended sensors, and implantable medical devices.[13] Despite containing radioactive materials, the batteries are considered safe for implants due to their engineering and inherently low radiation levels, which prevent an individual from receiving a dose higher than the set 15 rem whole body limit even in the event of catastrophic failure.[14] City Labs is also designing tritium-powered devices for NASA applications, including autonomous sensors for the Moon.[15][16]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Tritium Battery Gets NASA's Attention". ASME.
- ^ "Tritium nanobattery lasts in smaller spaces". EE Times. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ "Fast March From Incubator At Fiu To A Milliondollar Military Contract". Miami Today News. 2011-02-03. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ "City Labs Welcomes Dr. Larry Olsen, Pioneer of Betavoltaic Technology, to its In-house Research Team". VITA Technologies. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ "Homestead's City Labs makes first commercial tritium battery". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ "City Labs, Inc. Releases First Commercially-Available Betavoltaic Product". sUAS News. 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ Zhou, Chunlin. (2021). "Review—Betavoltaic Cell: The Past, Present, and Future". ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology. 10 (2): 027005. Bibcode:2021JSSST..10b7005Z. doi:10.1149/2162-8777/abe423. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ "South Florida leads with first commercial tritium batteries". Palm Beach Post. 2012-07-26. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ "Low Power Radioisotope Conversion Technology and Performance Summary" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ "Hello, Spider-Man 2: first commercial tritium battery for sale — with a 20-year life span". VentureBeat. 2012-08-14. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ "Commercially-available NanoTritium battery can power microelectronics for 20+ years". New Atlas. 2012-08-14. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ Cheu, Darrell. (2017-12-15). "Experiments and modeling on effects of temperature on electrical performance of a betavoltaic". Nuclear Engineering and Design. 325: 256–260. Bibcode:2017NuEnD.325..256C. doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2017.06.028. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ "City Labs Inc. Company Portfolio Data". SBIR. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ "City Labs Registry of Radioactive Sealed Sources and Devices Safety Evaluation" (PDF). NRC. 2010-10-30. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ "City Labs Unveils New Tritium-Based Technology to Power Future NASA Missions". SpaceNews. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
- ^ "Autonomous Tritium Micropowered Sensors". NASA. 4 January 2024. Retrieved 2024-08-05.